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Jalapeño Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are one of my favorite party snacks to make. People make fun of them a little bit — they have a reputation for being old-fashioned or giving you farts and egg-breath — and perhaps there’s a nugget of truth there, but good lord, deviled eggs are delicioso!

Deviled eggs in their basest form are made with mayonnaise, mustard, some cayenne pepper, salt. They get their name from the association of hot and spicy foods with the Devil. Often people add onion, pickles, capers, hot sauce, herbs, horseradish, and every family surely has a member who makes a “famous” deviled egg recipe of their own creation. This basic deviled eggs recipe is a great place to start from and if you’re interested in coming up with your own “famous” deviled eggs, there are some ideas below the recipe card!

Instructions

Peel the eggs and cut in half length-wise. Pop the yolks out into a medium bowl.

Mash with the mayo, mustard, salt and pepper until smooth.

Stir in pickled jalapeños and cilantro.

Spoon into the egg white cavities.

Decorate with pickled peppers and/or paprika!

Deviled Eggs, Reinvented!

Now to get krazy! Using the same basic ratio above (6 eggs : 3-4 tablespoons binder) make your egg yolk mash, then season with other ingredients that appeal to you. Have fun with it by starting with 6 eggs, then dividing the yolk mixture into 3 parts and seasoning each differently to find the perfect combination for you!

Pick a binder

This is the gooey ingredient that fills out the mashed yolks and adds some flavor:

Mayonaise

Creme fraiche

Thick plain yogurt

Avocado

Cream cheese

Creamed cottage cheese

Green goddess dressing (suggested by Zander Fancypants on YouTube)

Pick a piquant

Eggs need something tart and tangy to cut the richness; pick one or two of these:

Dill pickle relish

Sweet pickle relish

Capers

Mustard (yellow, Dijon, grainy, deli)

Horseradish (prepared)

Minced pickled jalapeños

Minced sweet pickled jalapeños

Minced black or green olives

Pimientos

Hot sauce or salsa

Chipotles in adobo (suggested by AnMooose on YouTube)

Pick a fresh

Something to brighten the flavor; pick one or two:

Lemon juice

Fresh dill, cilantro, tarragon, or parsley

Minced green onion

Minced celery and/or celery leaves

Minced fresh jalapeño

Season well

Start with a few shakes of salt then add pinches of one or more of these:

Black pepper

Cayenne pepper

Ground cumin

Turmeric

Celery seed

Dill seed

Paprika

Smoked paprika

Toasted sesame seeds

Minced dried onion (suggested by Bill on Facebook)

For extra-fancy eggs, I’ve seen people add minced smoked salmon to the yolks, or anchovies. I’ve even seen eggs with the yolks discarded, and instead the egg white holes are filled with pico de gallo. They are tasty, indeed, and a low-cholesterol solution to a craving for deviled eggs!